People compare classic motorcycles by purchase price. Owners compare them by what they spend over the years. The honest way to budget is by category, with your own numbers, and then to add a margin.
One-off costs when you buy
- The price. Including VAT where it applies. See importing within the EU.
- Inspection. A pre-purchase inspection: the pre-purchase inspection.
- Transport and travel. Shipping a classic motorcycle.
- Import costs. Customs and VAT for non-EU bikes: importing from outside the EU.
- Registration. The fee and plates. In the Netherlands, €13.10 for the registration with the RDW, per the RDW: the Dutch rules.
- Immediate work. Fresh oil, tyres, brake fluid, battery, hoses: waking up a bike from storage.
Yearly costs
- Road tax. Often zero for a qualifying classic: see the national articles in what counts as a classic motorcycle.
- Insurance. Insuring a classic motorcycle.
- Inspection. Where required, such as the UK MOT or German HU for bikes not exempt.
- Club membership. Usually modest and often paid back in advice and parts.
- Storage. A garage or a rented space, if you do not have one.
- Servicing. Oil, filters, plugs, chain, adjustments. If you do the work yourself, the cost is the parts. If a workshop does it, add labour.
- Consumables. Tyres every few years whatever the mileage, brake parts, cables, batteries: brakes, tyres and ageing rubber.
The costs people forget
- Parts that are hard to find. Prices of rare parts are set by scarcity. See finding parts.
- Specialist labour. Engine work, carburettor rebuilds and electrics by someone who knows the model.
- Time off the road. A bike waiting for a part is a bike you are not riding.
- Tools and workshop space. If you do the work yourself.
- Events and travel. Entries, fuel and ferries, if you go to shows.
- Safety gear. A helmet and clothing that suit a bike with old brakes.
- Selling costs. The commission and the preparation: starting price and reserve price.
A simple way to budget
- List each category above with your own estimate for a year.
- Add a contingency of at least a quarter to the work on the bike.
- Divide the total by the number of months you will have the bike, to see a monthly figure.
- Compare with what you would spend on a bike you can use daily. If the figure surprises you, choose a simpler bike.
If the bike is a project
The costs of a restoration are larger and less predictable: see planning a restoration. In many cases a good ready-to-ride bike is cheaper than a project, even if it costs more to buy.
